President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said Egypt reserves its right to retaliate against the killing of 21 Egyptian Copts by the Islamic State (IS) group in Libya at the suitable time and place.
The president added that the National Defense Council is in session to decide the course of action to be taken in response.
IS published an extremely graphic video on the internet Sunday purportedly showing the beheading of Coptic Christians it said it had kidnapped recently, and vowing to fight “crusaders.”
El-Sisi said he ordered the Egyptian government to give full support to the families of the victims and tighten a ban on travel to its western neighbor.
He also said directives were given to the state to take the necessary steps in order to secure and ease the return of Egyptians trying to leave Libya.
El-Sisi added he commissioned Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri to travel to New York and engage in necessary talks with senior United Nations officials and members of the Security Council to “place the international community before its responsibility and to take necessary procedures in line with the UN convention and to declare that what is happening in Libya threatens international peace and security.”
Source : Ahram online
